“What You Can’t See in Your Beef
Should Scare You the Most”

Gone are the days when you could depend on your neighborhood butcher or grocer to provide your family with wholesome beef. Beef from humanely treated animals, untainted with dangerous bacteria, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticides and herbicides. Lucky for us there’s a growing trend that’s bringing those days back.

Sometime after World War II, American meat producers made a decision that would have profound effects on both human and animal health, as well as the environment.

Along with that fateful decision, the factory farm was born. Today, a whopping 95 percent of the red meat you eat comes from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). And that includes the beef you find in most restaurants.

In fact, the average American meat-eater now consumes 9 ounces or more of factory farmed meat and animal products each day!

While industry may be providing us with relatively affordable products, we’re paying the price in other often-unseen ways.

We’ve lost the caring connection of business with its animals and the land to a furious quest that puts profit before food quality and safety. That’s taken a tremendous toll on soil health, along with the quality of the meat you depend on to nourish your body.

And then there are the bacteria and other horrors you can’t see in your meat...

Because foodborne illness has become so rampant, we’re forced to treat every piece of raw meat as if it’s tainted with potentially deadly bacteria.

Lucky for us, there’s a growing trend that offers a much more hopeful alternative. One that’s better for your health, the well-being of our animals, and the future of our land. It’s a solution that can help solve the many problems we face.

Cows are amazing creatures. They are one of the few animals that can eat and digest grass and turn it into fuel.

A very highly evolved digestive organ, called the rumen, allows them to do this. The rumen turns the cellulose in grass into a nutritious protein.

Because of this unique ability, cows are naturally suited for grazing.

However, very few cows live their entire lives on grassland. In the American beef industry, a young cow spends its first few months out on the pasture with mom, nursing and nibbling grass.

At the age of 6 months, the young animal is removed from its mother and put in what’s known in the industry as a backgrounding pen. This is where the very unnatural lesson of eating grains, mostly corn, begins.

Cows were designed to eat a variety of grasses that are very low in net carbs (total carbs-minus fiber). Just like us, they are unable to digest this fiber.

However the bacteria that reside in their intestinal system do a marvelous job of digesting the fiber and converting it to fat. So even though it looks like a cow is on a high-carb diet, the reality is that they are on a high-fat diet produced by the bacteria digesting all the fiber they eat.

When a cow eats grains, very serious problems develop, including the much-dreaded bloat. A cow’s rumen isn’t designed for grains. Corn is very high in net carbs and low in fiber which causes massive metabolic disturbances very similar to what we see in humans. That, along with stress, significantly increases a cow’s susceptibility to disease.

That’s when drugs and antibiotics enter the scene. Antibiotics are typically administered for the animal’s entire life to both treat and prevent disease.

Don’t think for a minute that beef producers do this for your good or for the animal’s benefit... Hardly.

Unfortunately, Americans have been primed to prefer their beef tender, juicy and well marbled with fat. Beef producers have discovered that by getting a young cow onto grains by the age of 6 months, they can move that animal to the finish line much faster — often within 14 months instead of two to three years!

As sickening as it is, time is money in the beef production world.

Should You Follow So-Called ‘Expert’ Advice and Eat Less Red Meat?

If you are eating factory-farmed or meat from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), my answer is unequivocally “yes.”

Administered antibiotics to prevent disease from stress and their unnatural diet

Given synthetic hormone and steroid “implants” to promote growth

Fed animal wastes that can promote the transmission of Mad Cow Disease

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector’s report revealed that beef sold to the public was contaminated with 211 different drug residues. And it’s estimated that as much as 20 percent of the drugs administered may remain in the meat you buy.

For all these reasons and more, I recommend you avoid eating meat raised in CAFO operations, if at all possible.

Authentic, 100% grass fed beef is a whole different story. Not only doesn’t it come with all these drawbacks, if produced ethically, it’s a red meat you can feel good about, as it plays an important role in a healthy diet.

Are You Being Exposed to Mad Cow Disease Without Even Knowing It?

I believe Mad Cow disease is a man-made plague created by the CAFO system. Today we know that one of the main ways Mad Cow is transferred among cows is to feed them bone meal and waste products from other infected cattle.

Cows can still end up eating diseased animal parts via CAFO-produced chicken litter

The good news is it’s no longer legal to feed beef-based products to cows.

However, there is bad news... CAFO cows are still being fed dead cow remains. The beef industry isn’t too astute when it comes to food safety.

A cattle feed product known as broiler or chicken litter is permitted. This mixture of chicken feces, bedding, spent feed and feathers has been used in beef production for over 40 years.

The beef industry gets to use it as a low-cost feedstuff to boost protein for fast growth

The poultry industry gains a cost-effective way of disposing all the refuse they sweep off their massive, factory chicken coop floors

But here’s the problem with feeding chicken wastes to cattle...

Broiler litter can contain antibiotics, heavy metals, pathogenic bacteria and even dead rodents, according to Consumers Union. And it can even contain cattle waste!

Ironically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the practice of feeding the remains of dead cows to cattle in 1997, but it never prohibited the feeding of them to poultry!

So while a cow can’t be directly fed the primary source of Mad Cow disease — remains of potentially diseased cattle — they’re still fed them indirectly through chicken feed!

The End Game for Antibiotics Has Arrived, Courtesy of the Meat Industry

An estimated 80 percent of total antibiotics sales in the U.S. end up in livestock

One of the biggest hidden costs of our cheap factory farmed meat is the pending loss of antibiotics to save human lives.

With the recent discovery of the mcr-1 gene mutation that makes bacteria resistant to our last resort antibiotics, we now know it’s no longer a matter of “if.”

According to the largest, most thorough review of the drug resistance problem to date, by 2050, antibiotic-resistant disease will claim the lives of 10 million people around the world each year.

Those numbers are staggering… and the meat industry is largely to blame.

An estimated 80 percent of ALL the antibiotics sold in the U.S. end up in livestock.

Antibiotics are not only used for treating disease caused by overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, as I’ve already pointed out, they are also used to promote speedy growth.

The main problem with using antibiotics in food production is that when microbes are exposed to repeated low doses of antibiotics, they quickly develop resistance and then pass this resistance on to other disease-causing microbes. And unless you kill all the microbes, the survivors pass their resistant genes on to the next generation of bacteria.

With each generation, the resistance becomes stronger and stronger until the bacteria no longer responds to the antibiotic’s effects.

That’s exactly how super strain, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are born... and how we’ve arrived at our current end-game situation.

CAFO Ground Beef THREE Times More Likely to Contain Antibiotic-Resistant Fecal Bacteria

Why CAFO Beef Can’t Hold a Candle to 100% Grass Fed Beef

As dismal as the situation may appear, there is hope on the horizon. Depending on the rancher’s practices, truly 100% grass fed beef provides an alternative that excludes:

The use of antibiotics, except for bona fide illness

Pesticides, herbicides, glyphosate and genetically engineered grains

Chicken feed and any kind of animal waste

Synthetic hormones and steroid implants

Confined, inhumane living conditions

Instead of taking a young calf from its mother at 6 months of age, a truly lifetime grazed cow remains on grassland for its entire life. It eats only grass and forages, and is fed no supplemental grains.

Because a caring connection exists between a smaller scale, grass fed beef rancher and his or her animals and land, there’s a greater regard for the well-being of all the components. And quality and safety aren’t compromised.

100% Grass Fed Provides Hope for Land Preservation

I’m sure you can imagine what happens when you raise tens of thousands of animals under one roof. You end up with a lot of pretty nasty wastes and, of course, it must go somewhere. Mostly hidden from view (on purpose), CAFOs decimate the environment. They’re responsible for:

A loss of water quality through nitrogen and phosphorus contamination in rivers, streams and ground water

Agricultural pesticide contamination to streams, ground water and wells, and safety concerns to agricultural workers who use them

The large emission of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide

The negative impact on soil quality through such factors as erosion, compaction, pesticide application and excessive fertilization

On the other hand, the production of lifetime-pastured 100% grass fed beef actually benefits the environment in the following ways:

Minerals from manure helps regenerate the soil

Reduces nutrient and chemical runoff of the soil

Diversifies and invigorates grasslands

Sequesters carbon

Supports wildlife, especially birds and bees

And because there are no antibiotics, steroids, pesticides, herbicides or other harsh chemicals used in grass fed production, you don’t see the same type of environmental destruction.

Finally, I’ve saved the best for last... There’s one final area where there’s simply no comparison between factory farmed and lifetime grazed grass fed beef: nutritional benefits.

Why Grass Fed Beef May Become Your Body’s Best Friend

Conventionally raised beef can’t begin to compare with lifetime grazed 100% grass fed beef for health benefits. Here are just some of the ways grass fed beef is superior:

A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)

Higher in the B vitamins thiamin and riboflavin

Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium

Higher in beta-carotene and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)

Here’s something else you may not know about grass fed beef... Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, is a naturally occurring fat found in grass fed beef and dairy.

CLA has been shown in studies to provide important support for weight management, immune function, normal cell growth and normal blood sugar levels.*

Animals that graze on pasture have 300 to 400 percent more CLA than those fattened on grain in a feedlot.

Once a cow begins to eat grains, it loses its ability to produce this valuable fat. Just one more compelling reason to choose grass fed!

What to Look for in Grass Fed Beef

First off, you need to know that only limited amounts of grass fed beef are produced in the U.S. About 85 percent of grass fed beef is imported.

Most of the grass fed beef you see in your local store is imported from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and occasionally from Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua and Uruguay.

Why, you might wonder?

Australia and New Zealand especially have a climate that supports year-round grazing. And there’s a lot of land to allow herds to graze. Because they are involved with large-scale production, they’re able to sell their meat for less than what American grass fed cattle ranchers can.

But there’s something else more sinister going on, too. While there’s plenty of demand for grass fed beef in America, the USDA and Big Ag employ shrewd tactics to make it difficult for American grass fed ranchers to stay in business.

That’s one of the reasons why I recommend supporting reputable U.S. grass fed ranchers whenever you can.

In just a minute, I am going to introduce you to an extraordinary company that has earned my respect and I’m sure they will earn yours too...

You need to be VERY careful and avoid being fooled. There is massive fraud and deception behind the Grass Fed label, and many dishonest retailers use the label even though the animal was only raised on grass for a few months.

If you are going to pay extra for the benefits of pasture-raised beef, then you need to confirm that the animals were never fed grains and were only raised on pasture or hay.

Calves are often fed genetically engineered corn, even when grass fed

The words “Grass Fed” and even “100% Grass Fed” on a package of beef can be deceiving.

Here’s why:

The FDA’s definition of grass fed only requires farmers to ensure their animals have access to the outdoors during the grass growing season, as short as six months in many areas.

Feedlot confinement with grains is the “norm” during the remainder of the year.

As incredulous as that may sound, it’s true. Beef labeled as grass fed — even 100% grass fed — may be fed genetically engineered corn and beans.

But that’s not all...

Because the grass fed industry is woefully under-regulated, there are no regulations concerning the use of glyphosate in non-organic grass fed beef production.

Roundup-ready alfalfa was approved in late 2011 and it just happens to be one of the main forage species for grass fed production. Imagine paying extra for grass fed and receiving a product that may contain residues from Roundup and its toxic active ingredient, glyphosate!

So, how can you know if you’re getting the real thing? Choosing lifetime grazed 100% grass fed is a great assurance for the cleanest beef possible. And knowing the rancher and his or her practices goes a long way, too.

But in just a moment I will reveal the absolute best way to make sure your grass fed beef is the real deal...

How a Thousand Hills Cow Differs Drastically From His Feedlot Brothers

Thousand Hills cattle never see a feedlot

Occasionally a 100% grass fed program will catch my eye, but none has held my attention like this one.

Thousand Hills takes 100% grass fed one step further than many other ranchers.

As we’ve just learned, 100% grass fed beef isn’t good enough anymore. It can still contain glyphosate, a proven probable carcinogen, genetically engineered grains and even antibiotics!

You need to know that the cows have spent their entire lifetime outdoors grazing, away from pesticides, antibiotics, and genetically engineered grains. And to know that for sure, you need to know the rancher. I’ve become well acquainted with the folks behind Thousand Hills.

Thousand Hills cattle are holistically and humanely raised by independent Midwestern family farmers and are “lifetime grazed.”

Their cows live freely on grass pastures that haven’t been treated with herbicides and are never confined to a feedlot. In the winter when grass is sparse, they consume stockpiled and stored forages such as hay.

As I often say, you vote with your money. When you buy poor-quality CAFO, you send the message that you support what factory farm cattle producers are doing to their animals, to their meat and to the environment.

When you choose 100% grass fed and finished beef, not only are you purchasing high-quality meat, but you’re supporting the hard-working cattle ranchers who are trying to make a fair living while they treat their animals with dignity and respect, protect the land, and bring you a finished product that is far superior nutritionally.

Marrow, the soft material that fills marrow bones, is considered a delicacy by many and an essential flavor addition for soups and other dishes.

Not only is marrow a delectable treat, it’s a treasure trove of nutrition, including a source of valuable collagen.

Researchers have discovered that the fat in bone marrow is a significant source of the hormone adiponectin, which helps maintain insulin sensitivity, break down fat, support heart health, and may play a protective role for cells, especially during calorie restriction.

Aside from their tasty insides, marrow bones are ideal for making bone broth.

With the popularity of ketogenic and low-carbohydrate diets, bone broth has become recognized as a real superfood. Low in carbs and high in minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, and amino acids that promote a healthy inflammatory response, bone broth is an essential part of a ketogenic diet – and any diet.

Bone broth has a long history of use for nourishing the body, mind, and soul. Physicians as far back as Hippocrates have recommended consuming a warm cup for gut support because of its unique qualities.

Thousand Hills Lifetime Grazed 100% Grass Fed Beef Marrow Bones come from 100 percent grass fed cows that have been raised sustainably and have never been given grains, grain byproducts, genetically engineered feed, antibiotics, or added hormones. You can enjoy them without hesitation, unlike marrow bones from factory farmed animals.

Got a Dog? Marrow Bones... One of Pups’ Favorite Things

For your dog's safety, offer only raw bones

Raw bones play an important role in your dog’s oral care, as well as providing mental stimulation and high-quality nutrition.

When your dog gnaws on a marrow bone, his teeth get the equivalent of a good brushing and flossing. This helps break down tartar and helps keep your pet’s teeth and gums clean and healthy.

These marrow bones come from 100 percent grass fed cows that have been raised sustainably and have never been given grains, grain byproducts, genetically engineered feed, antibiotics, or added hormones, unlike factory farmed animals.

Just a word of caution if your dog is overweight or has pancreatitis... You may want to scoop out the fat-rich marrow. For dogs with sensitive stomachs, remove the marrow until your pet’s GI tract adapts to the higher fat treat.

For your dog’s and family’s safety, please follow these recommendations when offering any raw bone to your dog:

Keep out of reach of infants and small children at all times

Refreeze bones between your dog’s chewing sessions

Bones must be given to your dog raw as any cooked bone can splinter and damage your pet’s gastrointestinal tract

Supervise your dog whenever he’s working on a bone, especially if he is an aggressive chewer, to minimize the risk of choking or tooth damage

If you have more than one dog, consider separating them when they are chewing raw bones to prevent resource guarding

Another thing to keep in mind about any raw recreational bone... When raw bones thaw and your pet chews on them, they can become messy and leave grease and traces of blood and meat around until your dog cleans them up. Many owners choose to offer bones outdoors, in crates, or on a surface that can be mopped afterwards. Avoid offering raw bones on light colored carpet.

What Thousand Hills’ Customers Are Saying...

I know Thousand Hills beef is a superior product, but what do consumers think about their Premium Natural 100% Grass Fed Beef?

Here’s a sampling from their Facebook page...

“Love this company! The grass fed beef they raise is truly superior. We can definitely taste the difference over other producers…”

“Great steaks and an impressive approach to raising beef cattle that needs to be replicated by more cattle ranchers.”

“I really want to thank this company for providing us with healthy meat. I am so appreciative.”

Pick Your Selection and Order Now

All of Thousand Hills’ products are flash-frozen at the peak of their flavor, then cry-vac packaged to preserve freshness, flavor, juiciness, and natural vitamins and minerals.

Each steak is individually sealed so you can stock up and freeze them without worry of freezer burn or spoilage.

With Thousand Hills beef, you have a long shelf life once thawed. Sealed steaks are good for approximately 20 days at refrigeration temperatures. Ground beef will also last over 20 days once thawed and unopened.

Shipping Dates:

To ensure freshness and safety, we ship the 100%Grass Fed Beef products on Mondays and Tuesdays only so that your product arrives on a weekday. Your delivery arrival date depends on your order date. Orders placed Tuesday through Friday will ship on Mondays. Orders placed Saturday through Monday will ship on Tuesdays. If a Monday or Tuesday is a holiday, orders will be shipped out on the next scheduled ship date.

Shipping Methods:

All 100% Grass Fed Beef products are packed in boxes manufactured with recycled paper and lined with insulated box liners made from recycled biodegradable cotton fibers in order to extend our sustainability initiatives and preserve them for the duration of the shipping time.

Top 4 Frequently Asked Questions

A: No, our beef is not Certified Organic, and here’s why: Our beef comes from independent Midwest family farm ranchers, not large factory farms. Obtaining certification is a lengthy, costly process, and in this case, would create one more hurdle (and expense) for these small-scale producers who are trying to do the right thing.

Because of the stringent requirements in the Thousand Hills program, organic certification really isn’t needed. The cattle are never fed grains or chicken feed, so there’s not the risk of glyphosate-contaminated grains and feed like with factory farms. Thousand Hills cattle eat a diet consisting only of non-herbicide treated grass and forage.

While I agree that the USDA Organic Certification is important for many foods and farm products, especially when produced large-scale, with this Lifetime Grazed 100% Grass Fed Beef, I believe all the essentials are guaranteed without it.

A: Shipping frozen is the way we can guarantee freshness and quality. Plus, freezing in no way detracts from a steak’s or ground beef’s quality. In fact, freezing actually improves overall tenderness! During the freezing process, water expands and helps break down the connective tissue for added tenderness.

A: Because grass fed is naturally leaner, we recommend cooking steaks no more than medium. For ground beef, you want to be sure to cook it to 160 degrees internal temperature.

Here are some preparation tips from an Executive Chef who uses Thousand Hills steaks and ground beef in his restaurant:

“Our steak is best served between medium-rare and medium (135-145 degrees F). For a great burger, cook to about medium-well (160 degrees F). Sear the meat while allowing the juices to rise to the uncooked surface. Turn once (use tongs, not a fork and avoiding compressing), remove from heat and allow to sit at least 5 minutes before serving.”

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